A fixed deck of a ship may be provided with a hangar for receiving and storing of a helicopter or other aircraft. It is known to provide a system of winches that are hydraulically driven to maneuver the helicopter from a helicopter pad to the hangar. However, due to the nature of hydraulics and associated control systems, known aircraft handling systems have built-in lag times that do not effectively compensate for rapid changes in cable tensions and associated loads on the aircraft. This issue is particularly critical in the case of adverse sea conditions.